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Jack Reider asked:


While most people enjoy casino gambling, sports betting, lottery and bingo playing for the fun and excitement it provides, others may experience gambling as an addictive and distractive habit. Statistics show that while 85 percent of the adult population in the US enjoys some type of gambling every year, between 2 and 3 percent of will develop a gambling problem and 1 percent of them are diagnosed as pathological gamblers.

Where can you draw the line between harmless gambling to problem gambling? How can you tell if you or your friend are compulsive gamblers? Here you can find answers to these questions and other questions regarding problem gambling and gambling addiction.

What is the Meaning of Problem Gambling?

Problem gambling or compulsive gambling is defined as an uncontrollable urge to gamble despite the destructive effect of gambling on the gamblers life and despite feelings of guilt and remorse. Problem gambling tends to have a negative effect on the gamblers financial state, relationships and daily life. Severe cases of problem gambling can be defined as pathological gambling.

Am I a Compulsive Gambler?

1) Do you gamble until your last penny runs out?

2) Do you gamble to win back your former losses or debts?

3) Did you ever had to borrow money to continue gamble?

4) Did your gambling habit ever made you lie to your friends or family?

5) Did you ever skip work or other obligation to gamble?

6) Do you tend to gamble to forget about your personal problems or to celebrate happy occasions?

7) Does gambling have a negative affect on your daily life or relationships?

If you have answered yes on at least one of the questions listed above, then you have a problem.

Can Anyone Become a Compulsive Gambler?

Theoretically, yes. Any gambler can develop gambling problem regardless to the type of gambling he is occupied with, the amount of money and time he is spending on gambling. Researches show that slot machines that can be found in bars and convenient stores are the most addictive type of gambling activity, while lottery draws and bingo games are located on the other end of the scale. Gambling addiction is an emotional problem; its symptoms, causes and treatments are similar to any other form of addiction.

How Can I treat Gambling Addiction?

1) Group Therapy:

Gamblers Anonymous offers a 12 step self help program similar to the one offered to alcohol addicts in Alcoholics Anonymous. Group therapy also offers gambling addicts advice and support from professional counselors and other gambling addicts in different phases of their recovery process. Gambler Anonymous centers are available in more than 1,200 locations statewide.

2) Individual Therapy:

Cognitive or behavior therapy can help gambling addicts to identify their unaware thinking and acting patterns, which led them to gamble compulsively, and to replace them with controllable and healthier ways of thinking.

3) Psychiatric Medication:

It has recently been proven that antidepressant medications from the family of SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be affective in treatment of gambling addicts.

Oscar asked:


A gambling problem usually occurs when a person over indulges in gambling, ending up being indebted and having dysfunctional relationships with loved ones.

First of all, Gambling is addictive. The risk and the winning can have a psychological effect on a person, making him unreasonable and irrational.

The first step to solving a gambling problem is acknowledging it. Gamblers Anonymous have the following set of questions to test if you indeed have gambling problems.

1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling? 

2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy? 

3. Did gambling affect your reputation? 

4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling? 

5. Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties? 

6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency? 

7. After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses? 

8. After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more? 

9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone? 

10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling? 

11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling? 

12. Were you reluctant to use “gambling money” for normal expenditures? 

13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family? 

14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned? 

15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble? 

16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling? 

17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? 

18. Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble? 

19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling? 

20. Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?

A problem Gambler would answer Yes to at least seven of these questions.

If you are indeed a problem gambler, the following tips should help you out of your gambling ditch:

* Never take credit cards or an ATM card with you when you gamble, just take the amount that you intend to spend that day.

* Limit the time you gamble.

* Remember, there are more chances of you losing than winning.

* When you win, keep the money and have an agreement with yourself not to use it.

* When you run out of money, give up, never borrow cash for gambling.

* Never hesitate to ask help from a buddy. Bring a gambling buddy who’s not addicted and ask him to keep you in check.

Daniel Millions asked:


Gambling is a fun activity that many people enjoy, while for others, the risk of losing money is not worth it, no matter how small the price to join the game or how big the prize. Just as some people will walk the other way from gambling, some people can become addicted to the game. At its best, gambling is just another entertainment for the evening. If you win, well, that is great and if you do not win, that is okay, too.

Gambling has reached its largest audience ever now that gambling is available online. The Internet has enticed some people who might not otherwise spend much time gambling, including teenagers, housewives and seniors. With so many people gambling, online and off, gambling is sure to be a problem for some people.

When gambling becomes a problem, the games are no longer fun. Addicted gamblers may still experience a thrill when they win, but they will play the game compulsively, even losing life savings or max out a credit card just to continue playing. Online gambling offers a venue where an addicted gambler can gamble for long periods of time without anybody noticing. With a credit card involved, such gambling can become a serious problem that can affect many areas of a person’s life. Credit ratings can be devastated by a gambling addiction.

What each gambler should understand is that any gambling system is a money making business in which it is not in the company’s best interest to have too many winners as players. Typically, a gambling business will not give a total amount of prizes that is larger than what is being taken in as revenue.

If you like to gamble occasionally, you can follow a few tips that will keep your gambling at a safe limit. Responsible gambling starts with you. One of the best strategies is to use only as much money as you can really afford. Since you know that the odds are against you, you can expect to lose money at gambling more often than you will make money. When you decide how much money you will spend, make that decision based on how much money you can afford to lose. When that amount is gone, your gambling session is over and hopefully, you had some fun gambling.

Do not gamble to make money, the odds are against you. If you need to unwind from stress, gambling is not a good way to that, either. When you are stressed out and begin losing, it will affect you more strongly than it would if you were just finding some entertainment from the gambling activity. Find another non-gambling game or activity for relaxation and fun. In fact, make sure that you have more ways to entertain yourself than just gambling.

Gambling is fun when you can have enjoy the game and not feel that your losses are a problem. When you stay on top of the game and do not let it get the best of you, you will be able to resist compulsive gambling. If you practice responsible gambling, it will keep your shirt on your back and the creditors at bay.